Best Survivor Seasons

Savastano20

The Top Ten

1Heroes vs. Villains

It was a very good desicion to make a heroes vs. villians survivor. Bringing back great players such as Parvati Shallow, Russell Hantz, Colby Donaldson and Rupert Boneham made the show great. Russell dominated the season... again. He made moves and prevented getting voted off by Rob's alliance. Parvati dominated physically. Good going girl! And I'm so happy for Sandra, that she won again. The rest of the players gave their best efforts and I like the challenges that they brought back.

Heroes and Villian was awesome! Even though at first he was on the outs on his tribe, Russel contiuned to dominate throughout the game. And they brought back great challenges. Parvati was awesome with the individual challenges, and they last challenge was so close. To me, I think this season was the best

In my opinion the perfect season. The villains ended up dominating over the heroes with some heroes (James) turning into villains, and some villains (Jerri, Sandra, Parvati) turning into heroes against the big villain of the season Russell. Having Colby as the last Hero remaining was also amazing since he was the "First Hero". And let's not forget about Boston Rob vs. Russell. Russell ultimately came out on top but we never got to see it again because of Russell's idiotic tribe on Redemption Island.

By combining the elements of an All-Star season and a brand new one, Micronesia managed to take the best attributes of both and fuse them together.

While dealing with the idiocracy of Kathy or Chet, you were able to see Cirie pull off a major blindside only minutes afterword.

Not only did this season manage to show how much better the Favorites were, it also featured one quitter, along with two injury withdrawals.

Exile Island also makes its return here, allowing for a more controlled method of operating when dealing with the immunity idol. It wasn't bad to look at either.

Finally, Parvati won. She was definitely the most deserving player and although the Final 2 Twist does not deserve credit, this season definitely does.

Yes. Best season! Parvati, Amanda, Cirie, Natalie, & Alexis made the best alliance. Erik was a good player, but he was naive. I wish James wasn't medically evacuated because I really liked him. Jason & Ozzy were stupid for not playing the idol, but still good players for even finding it. Eliza was dramatic, especially at the Final Tribal Council. Ami could've stayed, but I think it's good Erik was not voted out. Tracy was underestimated, I really liked her. I wish Kathy stayed because I really thought she could've been a good player. Chet was funny with Joel for that challenge. Jonathan Penner was a good player, despite being a flipper on Cook Islands. Joel was physical and strong, but sometimes a jerk. Mikey B was basically someone who thinks they can have this whole game in their hands. I wish Yau Man was in the game longer, but he was humble and made it far in Fiji. Mary's blindside was awesome & Fairplay should've either not be in the game or stayed longer

Love love loved this season. All the brilliant stategy and the fact the alliances held despite the tribal switch. Erik giving the immunity idol up was priceless. I love Parvati, glad she won, but would have rather had Amanda win. If she gave better arguments at tribal, she would have won China AND Micronesia.

Love this season so much! Ozzy and Yul are two of survivor's bests. Not to mention Parvati and Teller... A lot of memorable people and moments in survivor history came out of it! But seriously so hard to choose from all these amazing seasons

A great cast, and so many great strategic moves to progress the quality of the overall game and it brought so much of the entertainment factor to the table, I could never stop watching!

Ozzy was definitely a reason this was a great season. The others are it's amazing they got to the final 4. I also think Parvati was a great player.

Survivor Cagayan at 28? I mean come on, it should be at least in the top ten... Fantastic cast, great twists, people flipping and some great characters and not to mention some of the best blindsides in survivor history.

Likely this low because it just ended, Cagayan should easily make its way up this list. So many blindsides that were edited so flawlessly that even the viewers could not even predict what was going to happen (I gave up predicting about halfway through). Simply a great cast of characters with drama pre and post-merge that makes this one of the best ever.

Loved this season. So many tribal councils where I had NO idea who was going home. Crazy! Excellent game play and the winner totally deserved their vote

Whoaaa this must be some kind of joke! Cagayan was hands down the most entertaining season of all time, including a fantastic cast. I mean, come on people if you don't think this was the best season ever than just search Tony, Kass, or Spencer on youtube.

This was my first season to watch Survivor and I immediately fell in love with it. I LOVED the concept and the cast, but my favorite was CANDICE! Because of how great this season was it pulled me in to watch all the other seasons

So far this has been the best pre-merge since heroes vs villains and one of the best pre-merges ever, I mean, 3 HUGE blindsides in 5 episodes.

Ciera being from the pawn to be voted out to the mastermind of her own fate was what made me loathe her to loving her. Brad getting an impromptu vote-off that was decided during tribal council at the eleventh hour. Candice maturing from a girly flirt to a serious physical threat in redemption island and got redemption for her image.Overall, great, great season. At least the ones in jeopardy went down with a fight (purple rock, flip-flopping & getting clues) and we get to hope and root for them.This season pales in comparison to the other two Redemption Island seasons.

This season was fantastic. It is extremely underrated with an underrated winner, Tyson. Compared to his first two attempts to win, Tyson seemed more focused than ever, and was serious about winning, while still giving the viewers funny one-liners. BvV featured some of the most beloved players of all time, Tina and Rupert. This season also featured returning players who were somewhat random, such as Laura Morett, Monica Culpepper and Aras. Luckily, both of these players were able to prove themselves. It also gave us some great new players, such as Ciera, Hayden Moss (the winner of Big Brother 12,) Katie (Tina’s daughter), Vytas (Aras’ brother) and Brad Culpepper. All together, it was a great season, and I recommend watching it.

This season brought a whole new meaning to the common phrase "All's fare in love and war." With 2 love story's between Rob and Amber, and Jenna M. and Ethan. And with all of the blindsides this is by far the best season of Survivor.

I loved this season. Rob brought the whole girl/guy team to being a staple in further seasons. Plus for a romantic like myself I liked watching a true bind form that still exists today!

I loved this season. I think Rob played a hell of a game, which made it much more interesting and the romantic love between amber and rob was so cute of them!

Borneo was not the best season because it was the first one, it is the best because it let you really get to know the characters (Sonja, B. B, Stacy, Ramona, Dirk, Joel, Gretchen, Greg, Jenna, Gervase, Sean, Sue, Rudy, Kelly, Richard) I remembered everyone by heart. These seasons, you say "Monica from 'Survivor: Samoa' (Which was voted #1)" and you say "Who's Monica? ". In Borneo, you got to see people having fun. You see they're personalities, like stubborn Rudy, Goofy Sean, or insane Greg. You got to see who they really are. These seasons it's all strategy and you don't get to meet the people. In South Pacific, I haven't actually seen them build a shelter, make a fire, or search for food in the jungle. You saw all of that stuff in Borneo. The first season made things seem more real, and more fun. I enjoyed it more than any other season.

I think Richard was the most deserving winner too. Even more than Yul. Ozzy should have won Cook Islands. Go Ozzy. Hope ...more

You memorized all the contestants, yet you didn't mention Colleen. - naFrovivuS

The very first season of Survivor. It is almost impossible to argue against it being #1 for that sole reason, let alone the memorable cast including Richard Hatch, Rudy Boesch, and others. - Savastano20

The first season... good times. - Turkeyasylum

8The Australian Outback

Arguably the best cast ever. We really got to know these people and see them interact with each other. We also got to see them actually SURVIVE, something that recent seasons have been lacking. Nowadays, the game is all about strategy, but in the Outback, we got to see how they struggled from day to day without food and against nature.

My favorite Survivor season. A great cast who really dealt with nature like true survivors would. An awesome scene when Colby won the car and his mom surprised him by serving his (award) dinner. Very little talk of strategy in this season, something that has become the primary issue in the recent seasons.

Colby's was SO nice to take Tina to the end. In the long run he made, and still makes more money from his choice.

Fantastic season. Russell Hantz singlehandedly kept it interesting week after week. It sucks that he was robbed by a jury too stupid and stubborn to get over their bitterness and reward the best player. Other than that, GREAT season.

I have to say, best season ever! Samoa was a perfect location, and the cast was the best cast survivor has ever had!

Samoa was a lousy season with way too much focus on Russell. It was basically a commercial for his appearance in Heroes vs. Villains. A long three month commercial. - Breakdown

Honestly one of the better seasons I've seen, from Brandon and Phillip butting heads, to "The Three Amigos" voting Phillip out, to Brenda getting betrayed by Dawn. It was a really good season with the underdog Cochran pulling out the win.

This is a very overrated season. The favorites weren't even favorites, except Brenda, Erik, Malcolm, and somewhat Andrea. The fans also didn't really seem like fans. And Cochran is oh so overrated. He made moves, yes, but he was pretty cocky most of the time. Guess we can call him Cockran. - naFrovivuS

This season should be higher than twelve, Malcolm pulling out two immunity idols and blindsiding Phillip made one of the best moves in Survivor history, also Brenda blindsiding Andrea was a very underrated move, as soon as Brenda found out Andrea was scheeming to blindside her, SHE was the one scheeming to blindside Andrea, and it worked, also flushing out Andreas immunity idol, plus Reynolds and Andreas reactions were great.

Oh wow this season was terrible. First off, TERRIBLE casting. Who decided to bring back Phillip, Brandon, Francesca, and Corrine? The fans really didn't seem familiar with the game, and barely any of them did much of anything. The only exceptions I can think of were Reynold and Eddie. The favorites, mostly sucked off Phillip and Cochran for half the time. Plus, Dawn's really sh! tty reunion montage just makes me cringe. - isaaonrtdmtr

The Contenders

11Philippines

Fantastic season. The most likeable final four ever, unpredictable tribal councils, great water challenges, and power shifts easily make this season a top 10. Plus, who could forget the tribal council where both Abi and Malcolm flashed their immunity idols?

Its really exciting. Power outcasts are there. Majestic landscapes can be found in the location (Philippines). This is one of my favorite seasons ever. I love lisa in this season.

(WARNING SPOILERS! )Although I get tired of seeing returning players coming on to the show instead of a completely new cast I loved seeing Skupin return to make it to the end, Penner being entertaining as ever, and Russel Swan be all dramatic and seeing his reactions as his tribe lost every challenge until he got voted off. Best choice of returning players for me

Wonderful season! Dynamic players include Malcolm, Denise, Skupin, Abi, Carter (I guess), Penner, And some would say Lisa. Some good challenges (except the last one, that one sucked) and the season also made the meme known as Matsing. Malcolm is super likable, Denise was a wonderful underdog story, Skupin got where he supposed to get to, Abi is a HUGE villain, and Penner is a god.

This is a VERY underrated season of Survivor. Many people think Heroes Vs. Villains was the best season, however what made me not like it as much as Cambodia was that once the merge happened it felt very bland, and there were just many better moments in Cambodia. Cambodia kept you on your toes the entire time, the tides were always changing for who was "safe", and you will learn to LOVE all of the cast of this season. Not to mention this season has some amazing moments with the Savage blindside, Jeremy using his Idol on Stephen to blindside Ciera, Spencer blindsiding Stephen IMMEDIATELY after that, Joe's dream coming true of having his Dad be on Surivor in the Loved Ones challenged with him just for him to get voted out afterwards, No Votes in the Finale, and the new twist of being able to steal someone else's vote and use it as your own. Kelley Wentworth had to be my favorite part of this season for everything that happened thanks to her.

Incredible season. Every tribal council was a surprise. A great cast full of aggressive, savvy players. Two idols played in one tribal council. Some of the best blindsides in Survivor history. Cambodia will go down as one of the greats.

AMAZING SEASON WITH AN AMAZING CAST! There were so many unpredictable moments, and multiple twists and there are so many people to love in this cast. It was the first I ever watched, and most definitely one of my favorites. Must watch!

Cambodia's merge was crazy, but HvV merge was crummy with a bad pagonging.

This season had an AMAZING cast, a VERY deserving winner, and interesting stories within. I wish they would have better casts in the new seasons! But I still watch the new ones... I love survivor! Heroes vs Villains was also amazing but since this one's lower, I'll go with this one

It was my favorite. Interesting to watch, had good players, good strategies, good location, and good final 2 (Amanda is good, but nowhere near Courtney and Todd good). Best cast, with no player being ignored, and overall, China takes the cake for me.

China produced one of, if not the most deserving of all winners in the shows history. - Savastano20

People tear into the Outcast twist, but keep in mind that it actually altered the trajectory of the entire season. None of the eliminated contestants really had a chance of winning going forward, so they served as catalysts for the remaining castaways. Without Lillian and Burton, Jonny Fairplay would never have had the opportunity to pull his legendary "dead Grandma" lie, and his general post-merge dominance was firmly entrenched as a result.

Pearl Islands gets far too many things right for it to be derided in any meaningful capacity. Aside from the legendary antics of Fairplay, you also have the introduction of Rupert Boneham and Sandra Diaz-Twine, two of the most entertaining players ever. The pirate theme fit the setting and the castaways to a T: it felt like they could be part of a swashbuckling crew of seaborne rapscallions, particularly the Drakes. Everything came together so well. From the very beginning right through to the finale, this season never failed to deliver.

The outcast tribe isn't enough to hold the Pearl Islands down. Rupert and Jonny Fairplay made the beautiful scenery and excellent theming one of the most memorable seasons ever. - Savastano20

I loved it! This was the first season I watched and it was the one that got me addicted to survivor! I loved the cast, and the outcast idea was brilliant! I also loved the pirate theme. I would give it 5 stars!

Honestly, this season should be at least #7 on this list. It was anyone's game during the merge. As an added bonus two of the best people to play survivor debuted this season, Sandra and Jonny Fairplay. every bit of this season was entertaining. - Breakdown

J. T. and Stephen brought an A game to the table, while fellow contestants Coach, Tyson, and Sierra made splashes in their own various ways. - Savastano20

BEST SEASON EVER! I have watched every season and ths was by far the most interesting. Tyson is also my favorite player of all time - he's hilarious!

It got hard to watch those grown men gang up on Sierra & everyone watch it happen. Even the principal didn't stand up to the bullies. Like 6th grade with grown men. I wish Tyson had never won, because of this!

Pretty much everyone was memorable in their own sense, ESPECIALLY J.T., Coach, Tyson, and Stephen. - naFrovivuS

The only time in Survivor history where an entire tribe dominated all immunity challenges, leaving us with one of the greatest Survivor heroines, Stephenie. She was by definition, a true Survivor of the game of Survivor.

20th!?!? This season has the best location, cast, winner and a ton of entertainment! At least Vanuatu made top ten!

Underrated winner along with the first nerd to go far. Kenny. Sure Stephen would come later, but Kenny was proof that even a weak guy could be good at survivor. - q1q1q1q1q1

Too underrated! See this Survivor. For strategy and interesting players... This one can't be missed. It should be top 5!

One of the most unique locations around the planet and one of the most historic winners of survivor history...

I hated Crystal & Sugar! crystal a Olympian that just sucked: athelically & as a person (medals stripped for doping! ). sugar acted sweet and innocent, but she was bitter & nasty. Then you had Korran-- who admittedly is a B! The best of this season was the first 3 Pondarosa!